Occupational Health Clinic

I accepted an assignment in Miami, FL for one month because Hurricane Irma did some minor damages to my house. I needed time down there to make repairs. Fortunately, there was an assignment available that was brief and was from a 1099 agency (which is what I needed).

I was excited to begin this new assignment because it was an occupational health clinic for a major airline. It was something different in comparison to the chronic disease management I had been used to this past year. I was initially a bit nervous to start because it was the first occupational health site I have worked in. Fortunately, things transpired well.

The clinic is located in Miami International Airport. I made sure that I would be reimbursed for parking because parking fees are $17/day. Since the site didn’t have to pay for lodging, they were ok with paying for mileage and parking.

It has been an interesting experience so far. I mostly see on-site work related injuries such as musculoskeletal injuries, clogged ears, and lacerations. I sometimes see minor acute episodes that need to be treated quickly so the employees can return to work.
Examples of these are UTI, cold symptoms, rash, STDs etc.

The workload is relaxed, I mostly see about 4 patients a shift, on a busy day I see up to 8. The patients are gregarious and appreciative! The staff is friendly, and there is always another provider working with me. The center manager is nice and flexible; she even allowed me to change my work hours to accommodate me so I wouldn’t have to be stuck in Miami traffic.

It’s a really great gig, and I hope others are fortunate to find an assignment like this when they want to return home for a short period of time. If I were on the brink of retirement I would stay at this job permanently. Since I am young, I still need adventure and a challenge so will continue to work as a locum tenens nurse practitioner.

The clinic I worked for in Virginia called me this week to find out when I will start working at their Florida clinics. After working at this stress-free job, I am somewhat reluctant to jump back in to care for such a complex population.